Grimsby Town began their EFL Trophy campaign in front of another sparse crowd at Blundell Park with a 2-1 defeat to near rivals Scunthorpe United.

A Kevin van Veen double gave Paul Hurst his first victory of the season on familiar ground, while Harry Cardwell grabbed his first goal of the season for the Mariners.

Predictably, the controversial competition kept supporters away from Cleethorpes, although the draw of a local derby did see the usual low attendance rise up over 1,300.

As expected, Michael Jolley rang the changes as all-but one of the XI that started at Walsall just a few days previously were replaced.

And while the competition continues to serve up events that certainly won’t live long in the memory, the clash will at least have been a special one for Mattie Pollock as he led the Mariners for the first time.

Ethan Robson was handed his debut after completing his deadline day loan move from Sunderland, while Ahkeem Rose made his return from injury.

There was also the chance for the likes of Liam Gibson, Sebastian Ring, Max Wright, Charles Vernam and Cardwell to put their cases forward for regular league side, while Youth Team star Joe Starbuck was handed his first senior start.

Action from the EFL Trophy clash between Grimsby Town and Scunthorpe United (Image: Rick Byrne / Grimsby Live)

The much-changed Mariners began the game brightly, moving the ball about well and forcing their near-rivals back into their own half during the opening few minutes.

Cardwell was presented with the first chance of the game, and should have perhaps done better with his header after Town recycled the ball from Robson’s corner, but a mistimed jump saw the striker send his effort over the bar.

The hosts continued to have the upper hand, but just lacked the cutting edge that has seen them make a superb start in League Two.

The opponents had all the hallmarks of a side devoid of confidence though, perfectly illustrated when Yann Songo’o found himself in acres of space inside the penalty area, only to cushion a soft header nicely for Sam Russell to comfortably claim.

Moments later though, the Iron found themselves ahead, and the goal came complete with a message to former Town boss Hurst.

After Starbuck’s foul on the edge of the box, van Veen – a virtual cast-off for Scunthorpe this season – stepped up and curled the ball superbly beyond a helpless Russell to give the visitors the lead.

The Iron continued to threaten, and Alex Gilliead saw his pile-driver from distance just fly wide of the Town goal as the visitors showed their superior experience.

Songo’o was again presented with a chance from a corner, and his acrobatic strike had Russell and his defenders watching on in fear as it took a deflection, only for it to drift wide.

Action from the EFL Trophy clash between Grimsby Town and Scunthorpe United (Image: Rick Byrne / Grimsby Live)

Moments before the break, Vernam looked set to bring Town back into the game as a clever through ball sent him through one-on-one with Jake Eastwood, but the visiting goalkeeper did well and was helped by a slight stumble as the striker ran the ball out of play.

There were further chances for van Veen and Rose before the end of the first half, but the hosts remained behind – although they didn’t have to wait long to work their way back into the game.

Just a few minutes after the break, Rose forced Eastwood to tip his effort onto the crossbar, with the ball falling nicely for Cardwell to follow up and bundle the ball home for his second goal in a black and white shirt.

The Mariners pressed for the goal that would give them the lead, with Vernam testing Eastwood as he cut in from the left to try his luck from distance, but the Iron keeper was equal to the effort.

The visitors weren’t without their own threats though, and Ryan Colclough had the Town defence backpedalling before sending a powerful strike wide just after the hour-mark.

With a penalty shootout looming with 15 minutes to go, the Iron retook the lead, and it was van Veen once again as he controlled Colclough’s cross from the right before planting the ball into the top corner of the net, well out of Russell’s reach.

And, despite James Perch seeing red late on for a nasty challenge on Wright, it proved to be the decisive goal as Town fell to defeat – although, with bigger fish to fry in the league and Carabao Cup, it should hardly be of concern for Jolley and his players.

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